One issue with conventional washing machine appliances is that their total cycle times are unpredictable. Meaning, from load to load, users are left to guess or estimate when their washed laundry articles are to be completed. Total cycle times may vary from load to load due to varying sense/fill and drain cycle times. The sense/fill and drain times may vary because of certain factors, such as e.g., the size of the load placed within the wash chamber and the selected temperature of the wash liquid. For instance, generally, a greater quantity of wash liquid is filled into the tub for larger loads than for smaller loads. As it takes more time to fill the tub with a greater quantity of wash liquid than it does a smaller quantity, the sense/fill and drain times for larger loads generally take longer than the fill and drain times for smaller loads. These various factors create unpredictability in total cycle times, and thus, users may be inconvenienced.
Other issues with conventional washing machine appliances is that they generally do not provide users with the ability to control the time of a wash cycle or the ability to shorten the total cycle time whilst still performing the full wash cycle (i.e., still performing the sense/fill, wash, drain, rinse, and spin cycle portions). In some cases, users have a limited amount of time to wash laundry items. Without the ability to control the cycle time of the wash cycle, users are unable to select a cycle time that fits their schedule. This lack of functionality can be frustrating and inconvenient to users. Moreover, to wash laundry items within a shorten period of time, in some cases, users operate a washing machine appliance to perform a wash cycle and simply remove the laundry articles midway through the wash cycle. In this way, some of the cycle portions may not have been performed. For example, the articles may not have undergone a spin cycle portion and consequently the articles may be wet when removed from the wash chamber. This lack of functionality can likewise be frustrating and inconvenient to users.
Accordingly, improved washing machine appliances capable of performing timed washed cycles are desired.